TRP: Jasper and Larkin (Tough Girls)
Jen: at 6:44 PM Setting Day 156?, A working class bath house in Skyport After the cold outside, the humid bath house air was like a punch to the face. A welcoming, blissfully warm punch. Larkin didn't like the bath houses much, not so much because of the buildings themselves but the fact, that there were always strangers around and she had do keep an eye on her things at all times. Also, she had to leave most of her knives behind. Made her feel uncomfortable on the way to and from. She layered her clothes onto her cloak, then bundled it up tight so she could carry it around the bath easily. She left it sitting on one of the stone benches along the walls of the washing room and went to get a bucket, soap and a brush. In this room, two pools of hot and cold water were set in the center. Other people clustered around them to scoop out water, rinse themselves and chat. Larkin filled the bucket at the hot water pool and dumped it over herself. The warmth of it made her skin prickle with goosebumps. She filled the bucket again, then carried it to a spot closer to her bundle and sat on the tiled floor to scrub down. Hands, feet, fingernails. She even put a generous amount of soap into her hair before rinsing it out, the water coming away brownish and with more grit in it than she'd realized. Damn, maybe she should really do this more often. Satisfied with how clean she'd gotten, Larkin took her bundle and wandered over to the next room, where a lager pool dominated the center of the steam filled space. Along the walls, several smaller pools and stone benches were set in the floor and intersected by rows of stone collums. Larkin selected one empty pool, set the bundle on the bench beside it and slid into the water to just soak for a while. Coyote: at 7:02 PM Jasper trotted quickly down the street. She checked behind her-- she'd managed to lose the people following her, but she needed to find somewhere to hide fast. There. Big building, some kind of business. Loads of people going in an out. Jasper half-glanced at the sign-- said something about a few copper to get in-- dug the money out, ducked inside, slapped the money down on the counter, and took off down the hallway. She broke out into a large, open space. there was one enormous pool at the center, then several smaller ones around the edges. She went several feet inside before stopping dead. A bathhouse. A motherfucking bathhouse. That's where she'd picked to hide. Awesome fucking job, Jasper, she thought. She stood fully clothed, staring wide-eyed at people, before realizing: Aw shit. This probably looked suspicious as hell. Jen: at 7:14 PM Larkin had sunk into the water up to her chin and was making little bubbles in it, idly watching the other people around while enjoying the warmth. She sat up a bit straighter when a woman scooted in. Tall, blonde, fully clothed and looking very desoriented. Larkin stayed where she was but several others turned to stare or backed away, and one of the bath houses' staff approached the woman, probably to remind her of the house rules. Coyote: at 7:19 PM "Right, right," Jasper said to the woman. "No clothes in the bathing area, gotcha." She started backing away. "No weapons in the bathing area," the woman said, exasperated. Jasper started unbuckling the sword. From the other side of the wall-- which bordered on the street-- she heard familiar voices saying, "She can't have gone far." It sounded like they'd passed the bathhouse, though. Alright. So she'd stay here and mix with the crowd. Who in their right mind would hide in a bathhouse, right? They'd never come looking for her here. It was perfect. Jasper backed away to a corner and started stripping. When a staff member came over to take her sword, Jasper put a stupid look on her face and tried to pretend she was too dumb to understand. That worked on her brothers, sometimes. Eventually the woman wandered off, cross, and Jasper got to keep her sword. Jen: at 7:39 PM The crowd in the room got a lot thinner as guests decided they'd rather take their towls and themselves somewhere with lesser swords. Larkin sank deeper into the water again, following this odd woman with her eyes. It didn't look like she'd planned on being in here at all. Something was going on there. January 13, 2019 Coyote: at 9:20 AM Jasper was already plenty clean. She decided against going to the washing room. Maybe she’d just relax here a moment instead. All of the pools were occupied. Jasper silently decided to take the pool nearest to the exit— that one only had one person in it. The pool was maybe ten feet across, which meant she could sit on the other side without intruding on the woman’s space. Jasper hopped into the water without comment, still watching the entrance. Her walking in had caught some attention, but this was a big public place, and it’d died down now. She sank deeper into the hot water, still watching. Alright. If somebody did come in looking for her, she’d scream and make a fuss and pretend she didn’t know what was going on. What were they gonna do, drag a naked woman out of the public baths? Jen: at 10:25 AM Great, now that loon was coming her direction. Larkin pushed herself up with her elbows on the rim of the pool, but the woman barely looked at her as she hopped in. Only had eyes for the door. Larkin considered telling her to go find a pool for herself but actually, she'd been the only one sitting in one alone. Instead, she angled herself to better watch the woman, and the entry she'd come through. Coyote: at 10:40 AM Jasper checked the woman out from the corner of her eye. She did it automatically: it was something she’d trained into herself. Walk into a room, assess any threats. It probably wasn’t necessary here. Her bathmate was naked and likely had no weapons. Still, Jasper was on edge. Her bathmate was a tiefling. Sharp, curving horns. She reminded Jasper of a wolverine: wiry-looking. Lean. She had a few scars, which was interesting. Obviously some kind of fighter. Huh. Jasper wet her long hair in the water, then squeezed it out. She relaxed and started checking out the other patrons. Jen: at 10:51 AM When the blonde woman had burst in, it'd seemed like she'd been chased. The wide-eyed, disoriented look, the tense way she kept watching the exits. But now she seemed to get comfortable in the water. Either confident she'd gotten away or just...being weird. Either way was interesting. Larkin let herself sink deeper again and positioned herself to sit at a right angle from the other. All smooth muscle and the tell-tale marks of a fighter. Larkin tilted her head towards the weapon her companion had left outside the pool. "You always bring your sword for a swim?" Coyote: at 11:06 AM Jasper glanced over, a little caught off-guard. Huh. That was probably a natural question. “Yeah,” Jasper said. She went back to scanning the other patrons, then stopped, satisfied. “I mean, if I was gonna kill somebody, I’d do it while they were bathing. No armor. No weapons. Stands to reason if somebody wanted to fuck me up they’d do the same thing.” Jen: at 11:17 AM "Yeah, but they wouldn't let that person bring armour and weapons- except they do, apparently." Larkin looked for the staff, frowning, but they were occupied with pouring waters over heated rocks, creating more steam. Maybe she'd insist on bringing a weapon, too, next time. Coyote: at 11:27 AM “Aha. True. Well, say a person came in with weapons and wanted to fuck somebody up. Who’s gonna stop ‘em? The town guard will take at least a couple minutes to get here. And you know, there’s disguise magic. Wouldn’t be that hard for somebody to come in here, change what they look like, fuck somebody up, make an example of them, then get away.” Jasper knew this for a fact. Her mom did it sometimes. Jen: at 11:32 AM Larkin shifted into a more relaxed position while she talked, one arm out on the rim of the pool. She drummed her fingers on the stone. "Good point," she said and tilted her head a bit. "But getting them to let you keep your weapon seems too much of a hassle every time. Also, it attracts attention. Seems easier to just wash at home." Coyote: at 11:42 AM “Yeah. True.” Some places didn’t have that option, though. And Jasper liked relaxing in bathhouses sometimes. “Hey. Wanna see somethin’ neat?” Jen: at 11:46 AM "Sure. As long as you keep that sword away from me." Coyote: at 11:57 AM Jasper had beads, braids and scraps of cloth in her hair. She reached up into the thick of it. She unbraided a hidden charm from the middle, then pulled it out. From the outside, it looked like a carved wooden charm, maybe five or six inches long. Jasper angled her body so that no one else could see. Just the two of them. Then Jasper flicked a small safety release switch and pressed a button on the side, and a blade snapped out. “Hidden pocketknife,” she said. “Goes in my hair. Guards never find it.” Then, remembering how cautious the tiefling had seemed, Jasper closed the knife again and set it on her clothes next to the pool. The tiefling was still ten feet away, so hopefully she felt safe. Jasper felt a bit guilty, suddenly. Normal people didn’t find knives and shit interesting. She’d probably just creeped the woman out.(edited) Jen: at 2:37 PM "Rad," Larkin said, a bit disappointed that the knife vanished so fast. She'd have liked to examine it some more. She grinned. "Got any more surprises up there?" Coyote: at 2:54 PM Oh. Huh. That was different. Jasper looked at her again. She wondered if the tiefling was a thief. Then again, she had all her fingers and toes, so maybe not. Then again, maybe they didn't cut off fingers ands toes in Skyport. Jasper was definitely a thief-- on occasion-- and Jasper had all her fingers and toes. Didn't mean anything. She started unbraiding her braids and untying the beads. Setting them aside, one by one. "Nah. That's all I got." Which, admittedly, was what she was gonna say either way. She rubbed conditioning lotion and oil into her hair to loosen it, then began to comb it out. "Hey, you some kind of mercenary?" Her eyes lingered on the scars. The wiry muscle. Jen: at 3:13 PM The woman looked her over again, not just acknowledging her presence but taking in the detail. Larkin suddenly felt naked in a way she hadn't up until now. She shifted a bit, feeling like sinking deeper but not wanting to show that she'd noticed. "In a way," Larkin said. She returned the look, now blatantly watching the other wash her hair. The traces of scars on her skin and the way the muscle moved underneath. Coyote: at 4:03 PM Jasper paused a moment. Jasper knew better than to oggle strange women in bathhouses. Felt rude. People were here to bathe. She was pretty sure, though, this woman was... checking her out a bit. Just a bit. Or maybe Jasper was misreading the situation, who knew. Jasper felt her mouth quirk up, but she tried not to smile, looking away. She went back to combing out her hair. "In a way? What kinda way? I get hired to kill people. You get hired to do something else?" Jen: at 4:22 PM "Yeah." Her bath mate had turned away. Seemed to have gotten the hint, or seen her fill. Wasn't much to look at on Larkin anyway. "Though I'm not so open 'bout it. What kinda killing are we talking here?" Her eyes fell to the sword again. Looked more like a regular mercenary's weapon than that of an assassin. Coyote: at 4:29 PM "The, uh, normal... legal... kind. You know. Monsters in the woods. Sometimes I get hired to clear out ruins, that kind of thing." And sometimes her brothers needed her to rough somebody up, which was less legal, but hey, she didn't need to say that. This girl was probably smart enough to figure that out on her own. Jasper rinsed the conditioning lotion out of her hair, leaving a pleasant minty cool feeling on her scalp. She sank into the water with a sigh. "You didn't answer my question. You ain't gonna tell me what you do?" Jen: at 4:34 PM Larkin hummed as if considering and leaned her head back. "Nah." So, some kind of adventurer. Maybe someone who could've worked for Ripley, if the guild still existed. "But I used to do something like that, too. For a while." Coyote: at 4:43 PM Not gonna tell her, huh. Jasper liked that. Maybe she could get it out of her later. Sometimes Jasper got this little voice in the back of her head that said she was about to walk into a bear trap. And then Jasper usually walked into the bear trap anyway, because fuck it, what was life without a few bear traps, right? Jasper got that feeling when she looked at the tiefling woman. She thought, This girl's trouble. Cool. "Huh," she said. "Not anymore?" Jen: at 4:49 PM Larkin shook her head. "Nope. My employer quit. Now it's more like," she waved a hand, water flying from her finggers, "bits of this 'n that. Whatever pays, y' know." The woman had that look again, her gaze lingering on Larkin just a bit too long, a bit too intense. The odd thing was, Larkin didn't mind. She would, normally, but somehow, this was... enjoyable. Coyote: at 4:51 PM "Neat. Who are you?" Jasper didn't think the tiefling woman would tell her, but she figured she'd try and ask, at least. Jen: at 4:54 PM Larkin grinned. "Just someone using the bath house because it's too fucking cold to wash at the pump." Coyote: at 5:05 PM "Uh huh," Jasper said, giving her a long, amused look. Then she did a double-take, spotting someone over Larkin's shoulder. Someone was checking inside the entrance briefly. Fully clothed, just scanning the pools of water. Jasper sank a little deeper, holding her breath. She quickly scrubbed the blue paint markings off her face. Hopefully she wouldn't be recognizable like this-- naked, with her facial markings gone, and her hair unbraided and wet. Then she thought, Shit. She was sitting here next to her clothing and sword. She'd brought her fucking broadsword and left it right next to the pool. So much for hiding in the crowd and not drawing attention to herself. Jasper shifted her clothing to hopefully hide the sword a bit more, then sank deeper into the water so just her eyes were visible.(edited) Jen: at 5:26 PM Her companions demeanour suddenly changed. Larkin watched her shift her bundle of clothing, then dive under to peer out of the water like a frog. He followed her line of sight to the entrance, where someone in full clothing just vanished. Followed by someone? Hiding? "I gotta go," Larkin announced, and pulled herself of out the pool to grab her bundle and towel. Whatever was going on with this strange woman, Larkin had no desire to become part of it. Coyote: at 5:30 PM Jasper waved casually good-bye, then sank a little deeper into the water. She waited until the person at the door was long gone. Then Jasper toweled off her hair, grabbed her clothing, and booked it back to the changing room. Pity the woman took off, Jasper thought. She didn't blame her, though. Jasper would've done the same thing. Jasper found a back door, then slipped out. If they'd seen her in the water, they might be waiting outside for her. break(edited) January 15, 2019 Jen: at 8:51 AM continuing Day whatever, some time before day 158. The little bell above the door tingled as Larkin pushed it open, and behind the counter a bucktoothed boy looked up from his work. A pair of spectacles sat on his nose, making his eyes bulge like a fish's. He slid the up to his forehead. Good morning, uh... miss." He squinted at her for a second, then beamed a smile. "What's, ah, how may I help you?" Larkin crossed the front room and set her hand crossbow on the counter. "Trigger mechanism broke. Can you repair it?" The kid flipped the spectacles back on his nose and began turning the crossbow over in his hands, bringing it inches from his face. "And?"Larkin prompted after a while. He hummed to himself, then turned to the doorway leading into the back of the workshop. "Maaa!" He snapped his head back around and held up a finger to Larkin. "I need to show this to my mo- uhm, my master. Please wait." Fast as that, he and her crossbow vanished behind the beaded curtain and Larkin was left standing alone in the shop. She waited a few moment and when the kid didn't come back right away, went to idly browse around the front room and if a small piece of merchandise or two disappeared from its place, she had no clue where it went. Coyote: at 9:05 AM Jasper kept thinking about that tiefling woman in the baths. She couldn’t help it. The way she’d examined the knife, then examined Jasper. Jasper kept playing with her switchblade as she walked down the street— the one she usually kept hidden in her hair. The handle was smooth and warm, inlay with bone and silver. She wondered idly if she could get another one, this time disguised as a necklace. She stepped into the blacksmith’s shop. There was no one at the counter, just another customer. A tiefling guy. Short, dark, messy hair. Kind’ve shady looking. Huh, Jasper thought. He looked kind of familiar. Jasper drew a knife and started cleaning her nails. Jen: at 11:56 AM The doorbell rang and Larkin watched the new customer enter out of the corner of her eye. A woman, tall with braids and beads in her blonde hair and a smear of blue paint on her face. Larkin turned around, a lopsided grin on her face. "Your sword gotten rusty?" Coyote: at 12:02 PM Jasper blinked at the man. “Has my sword gotten...? Sorry, do I know you?” Huh. The tiefling looked pretty androgynous, now that she took a closer look, but the voice was really familiar— “Oh, fuck!” Jasper said, breaking into a smile. It was the tiefling woman from the baths. “I didn’t recognize you with your clothes on.”(edited) Jen: at 12:09 PM Larkin cocked her head and snorted. She was about to crack a joke about how she should start doing second story work naked then, but then remembered the other didn't know she was a thief. "Can't say the same about you. You're pretty recognisable." Coyote: at 12:12 PM “I like people to know who I am,” Jasper said. “Unlike some people, I guess. Do I get a name yet, or are you gonna make me keep waiting for it?” Jen: at 12:18 PM "Hm. Y'know, for someone who likes people to know who she is, you haven't shared an awful lot of name yourself." Middle ground. Make her think she'd get a name later. Larkin could've flat out denied her but this was kinda fun and she might fuck off If Larkin did. Coyote: at 12:23 PM “You haven’t asked,” Jasper said, amused. She sat on the counter and waited, watching the tiefling. “Tell you what. Say: Please, handsome and mysterious stranger, tell me your name, and I’ll tell you. I’m nice like that. I compromise.” Jen: at 12:27 PM Larkin burst out laughing. She glanced over to the workshop entrance, still no one there, then moved to lean back against the wall near the entrance. "How about I tell this handsome and mysterious stranger to kiss my ass?" Coyote: at 12:30 PM Jasper couldn’t stop smiling. Ha. She got the tiefling to call her handsome. Either way, she counted it as a victory. Yeah, she figured that’s what the tiefling would say. “Well, then you leave me no choice,” Jasper said. “I’ll have to get you really fucking drunk so I can weasel it out of you.” Jen: at 12:38 PM Larkin kept the smile on her face but her eyes narrowed a bit. "Sorry. You'll have to find someone else to weasle a name out of." This woman was fun and interesting- but then there was the way she kept looking Larkin over and asking for her name and what she did. There was no indicator this person this person was targeting her for something but still, something felt off. Coyote: at 12:45 PM Jasper tilted her head, amused. “Huh. Alright. Guess I’ll have to get myself drunk.” Jen: at 1:01 PM Larkin only drew up a corner of her mouth in return, and left it at that. She glanced over to the workshop entrance again, getting impatient, and decided to go see what was taking so long. Just as she rounded the counter, the kid popped through the curtain. He stopped dead in front of her, eyes wide and a slip of paper in Hand. "You done?" Larkin asked. The boy held the paper slip up higher, as if hiding behind it. "Unfortunately, it'll take a bit longer. It'll be ready tomorrow, though. Uhm, miss." He stuck out his hand and Larkin plucked the paper from his fingers. "Fine. Tomorrow then." She turned for the door, but couldn't leave without giving the woman one last side glance. What a strange person. Coyote: at 1:08 PM Huh, Jasper thought. The flirting must’ve scared her off. Oh well. Jasper shrugged, not bothering to watch her go. She wasn’t really Jasper’s typical type, anyway. Jasper usually liked soft girls. Curvy. Small. Sweet. Not tough, lean street thieves. Jasper set the knife on the counter. “Can you make me another one of these? A smaller one.” end Coyote: at 1:43 PM Title: Jasper and Larkin (Tough Girls): Larkin and Jasper meet for the first time. They both refuse to tell each other their names. Category:Text Roleplay